Kannawaen

Every room at Kannawaen comes with its own outdoor bathtub fed by the hotel's completely natural hot springs, which tells you exactly what kind of stay this is. The ryokan-style property sits in Beppu, the biggest hot spring resort in western Japan, so the city takes bathing seriously and so does the hotel. Rooms run from Western doubles to traditional futon layouts, all with cypress wood tubs inside. Two restaurants and spa treatments round things out for anyone who surfaces long enough.

One honor, in evidence: